Driving mechanism for automatic musical instruments.



F. L. MQGORMIGK. nmvme MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 25, 1913.

1,132,104. Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

\A/iTNEEIElEEI WW 67 NMO $YW I bY fiTTElRNEYE-a FRANK L. MCCORMICK, OF NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW

RUDOLPH WURLITZER MANUFACTURING COMPANY,

YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE OF NORTH TONAWANDA,

NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

Application filed August 25, 1913. Serial No. 786,394.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK L. McCon- MICK, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Tonowanda, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Driving Mechanism for Automatic Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the driving mechanism of automatic musical instruments, and more particularly instruments controlled by a perforated music sheet.

An instrument of this character is shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States, No. 1,013,056, issued October 29, 1912, to The "Rudolph Wurlitzer Mfg. Co., as assignee of August de Kleist and myself.

The object of my present invention is the provision of a simple, positive and reliable driving mechanism for the music spools and other parts of the instrument. In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a sectional front elevation of a combined automatic and manual piano embodying the invention, the front plate of the instrument being removed. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of a portion of the frictional driving mechanism. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a similar section on line 44, Fig. 1.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

1 indicates the key-table of the instrument and 2 the wind chest preferably arranged above the same.

3 is the main or driving shaft arranged horizontally in. the lower' portion of the piano case and driven by an electric or other suitable motor 4. 5 indicates the tracker box or frame preferably mounted on the wind chest 2. 6 the usual tracker board, 7 the music spool and 8 the take-up spool. The mechanism for winding the usual sheet (not shown) upon the take-up spool 8 and rewinding it upon the spool 7, may be ofany suitable construction and forms no art of the present invention. That shown y way of example in the drawings is of the friction type and constructed in accordance with the mechanism shown and described in the Letters Patent hereinbefore mentioned, to which reference is made for a more complete disclosure thereof. 9 indicates. the upper friction disk or wheel of said mechanism which drives the music spool 7, and 10 the lower friction disk or Wheel thereof which drives the take-up spool 8.

11 and 12 indicate the upper and lower horizontal friction wheels which respectively drive the wheels 9 and 10 and which are both mounted on an oscillating upright shaft 13 journaled in an oscillating frame or yoke 14 pivoted by horizontal trunnions 15 in a bracket 16 projecting from the adjacent side of the tracker box. By this construction, when said shaft 13 is rocked toward the left, its upper friction wheel 11 leaves the companion disk 9 and its lower wheel 12 engages the companion disk 10, as shown in Fig.1, thereby driving the take-up roll, while when said shaft is rocked in the opposite direction, its upper wheel 11 engages the disk 9 and its lower Wheel 12 leaves the disk 10, thereby driving the music spool 7 and rewinding the music sheet thereon. The particular means for oscillating the shaft 13 also forms no part of my present invention.

The shaft 13 is constantly driven in the same direction from the main shaft 3 through an upright shaft 17 extending through the key table 1, and a horizontal shaft generally designated by the reference character 18 and preferably composed of three sections 19, 20 and 21, this horizontal shaft being arranged above the wind chest 2. The upright shaft 17 is arranged adjacent to the side wall of the piano case, and preferably driven fromthe main shaft 3 by a worm 22 and a Worm Wheel 23, while motion is transmitted from said upright shaft to the shaft section 21 by bevel gears 24 and 25 and from the shaft section 19 to the oscillating shaft 13 by similar gears 26 and 27.

The adjacent ends of the upright shaft 17 and horizontal shaft section 21 are journaled in a fixed bracket 28 secured to the side wall of the piano case. The other shaft section 19 is supported in an arm or bracket 29 carried by the oscillating yoke 11 by which construction the bevel wheel 26 of th shaft section 19 oscillates with the bevel wheel 27 and is maintained in gear therewith. To permit of this oscillation of the shaft-section 19 relative to the fixed shaft section 21, these parts are flexibly connected together by swiveling or other suitable joints. In the preferred construction illustrated in the drawings, the intermediate shaft-section 20 is hollow and provided at its ends with longitudinal slots or recesses one of which is shown at 30 in Fig. 2. These slots receive the ends of transverse pins 31 and 32 respectively secured to the inner ends of the shaft sections 19 and 21, which ends are preferably spherical, as shown at 33, in Fig. 2. Motion is thus positively transmitted from the upright 17 to the oscillating shaft section 19 and the latter is at the same time permitted to rock or oscillate relatively to the immovable shaft-sectionQl and follow the corresponding movements of the shaft 13.

By this construction, the use of belts and similar unreliable driving elements is dispensed with and the music and take-up rolls are positively and reliably driven from the main shaft 3 in a simple manner and by parts which occupy comparatively little space in the piano case.

I claim. as my invention:

1.- In an instrument of the character described, the combination of music and takeup rolls, actuating mechanism for said rolls including driving and rewind wheels respectively connected with said rolls, an upright oscillating shaft carrying wheels arranged to engage said driving and rewind wheels, respectively, a substantially horizontal shaft geared with said oscillating shaft, said horizontal shaft comprising an oscillatory section movable with said oscillating shaft and a relatively stationary section jointedly connected with said oscillatory section, and means for driving said relatively stationary shaft section.

2. In an instrument of the character described, the combination of the case, a driving shaft arranged horizontally in the lower portion thereof, music and take up rolls arranged in the upper portion of the case, driving and rewind mechanism for said rolls, including driving and rewind wheels respectively connected with said music and take up rolls, and an upright oscillating shaft carrying wheels arranged to engage said driving and rewind wheels, respectively, a horizontal shaft arranged in the upper portion of the case and geared with said oscillating shaft, said horizontal shaft comprising an oscillatory section movable with said oscillating shaft, and a relatively stationary section jointedly connected with said oscillatory section, and an upright shaft connecting said horizontal shaft with said driving shaft.

3. In an instrument of the character described, the combination of the case, a driving shaft arranged horizontally in the lower portion thereof, music and take up rolls arranged in the upper portion of the case, driving and rewind mechanism for said rolls, including driving and rewind wheels respectively connected with said music and take up rolls, an upright oscillating shaft carrying wheels arranged to engage said driving and rewind wheels respectively, a horizontal shaft arranged in the upper portion of the case and comprising an oscillatory section movable with said oscillating shaft and geared therewith, a relatively stationary shaft section and an intermediate section connected with said oscillatory and stationary sections by swiveling joints, and an upright shaft extending from the lower to the upper portion of the case and connecting said stationary shaft-section with said driving shaft.

4. In an instrument of the character described, the combination of the case, a driving shaft arranged horizontally in the lower portion thereof, music and take up rolls arranged in the upper portion of the case, driving and rewind mechanism for said rolls, including driving and rewind wheels respectively connected with said music and take up rolls, an oscillating frame, an upright shaft j ournaled in said frame and carrying wheels arranged to engage said driving and rewind wheels respectively, a horizontal shaft comprising an oscillatory section geared with said upright shaft and carried by said oscillating frame, a relatively stationary section and an intermediate section, said intermediate section being provided in its ends with slots and the other two sections of said horizontal shaft having transverse pins engaging said slots, and a second upright shaft connecting said horizontal shaft with said main shaft.

Witness my hand this 15th day of August, 1913.

FRANK L. MCCORMICK.

Witnesses:

C. F. GEYER, E. M. GRAHAM. 

